Mayor Hits Street For Bond Plan

August 06, 1985|By Lisa Hooker and Rudolph Unger.

The day before Mayor Harold Washington`s proposal for a general obligation bond issue to repair the city`s infrastructure was to appear before the Chicago City Council Finance Committee, Washington was out pinning ``G.O. Bonds`` buttons on Northwest Side residents and coaxing aldermen for support. But majority-bloc aldermen were busy Monday, too, trying to come up with their own ways to spend the funds from the bond issue, which even Ald. Edward Burke (14th), Finance Committee chairman, has said he will probably support.

Washington, who visited the 44th, 33d, 30th and 41st Wards, wore a confident smile Monday as several aldermen promised support of the bond issue as long as their neighborhoods get a fair share of the revenue.

But one alderman openly complained Monday that his ``fair share`` of the proposal isn`t enough for his ward. Ald. Roman Pucinski (41st) led Washington down a badly patched stretch of Rascher Avenue, pointing to homes that flood when it rains because of a lack of sewers.

``I`ve got 274 blocks like this,`` Pucinski said. ``You can see the problems with the slabs of asphalt laid down over a dirt road.

``There are 2,500 streets like this in the city. They need more money.``

Pucinski said more of the $150 million bond issue should be used to repair WPA streets, streets that were built by the Works Progress

Administration in the 1930s. The streets often do not have sewers and were built so that water drains into residents` yards. Patches of asphalt and potholes crisscross the crumbling pavement.

``What we`re saying, Mr. Mayor, is that we appreciate this first effort but we need a little more meat on the bone, a little more assistance for WPA streets in the bond issue,`` Pucinski said. ``A little more meat on the bone, and we`re in business.``

A handful of majority-bloc Democratic aldermen met Monday to ``put a little more meat on the bone.`` They discussed ways to include more funding for WPA streets without cutting anything that other majority-bloc aldermen considered vital.

One proposal that aldermen said they will suggest at Tuesday`s meeting is to take $15 million earmarked for improvements at Navy Pier in Washington`s proposal and shift the funds to WPA street repair.

The aldermen said that because a city task force has not completed its study on what should be done with Navy Pier, the money set aside for it could be better spent on streets. Later, after the task force has made its recommendations, the city could find more money for Navy Pier, they said.

Under Washington`s proposal, the general obligation bonds would be used to repair 450 blocks of sidewalks, carry out 10 major sewer projects, repave 65 blocks of alleys, install or repair 50,000 street lights and reconstruct vaulted sidewalks. The bonds also would pay for 4 miles of resurfacing in each of the city`s 50 wards. The projects are to begin next spring.